The Cross

1 Corinthians 15: 3-8  -   For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve.  After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.

The death…burial…and resurrection of Christ….it is the hinge point of our faith.  Paul …in one of his most eloquent moments ….writes this short…but very powerful summary of the reason Easter is so important to any one who considers themselves a Christian. These few verses give us hope beyond hope…Christ is alive…sitting at the right hand of the father….and celebrating his victory over death…so that you and I can join him one day.

I too was abnormally born….I was born into sin…and walked lost for 14 years.  Thanks be to God that others who believed…my parents…family…church….friends…they all taught me about this great man Jesus…and the hope he gave each one of us through his sacrifice of love on the cross. Thanks be to God that he touched my heart when I was 14 and allowed me to ask him to become one of his children. 

I stopped and read part of this chapter more than once…something about the words in verse 31….they put my brain in a reflective moment….Paul said, “ I die every day--I mean that, brothers--just as surely as I glory over you in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  We really have no clue just what Jesus’ death felt like….even if we imagine our worst earthy pain…it could never compare to the agony Christ suffered for us on that cross.  I do need to die to my sin each and every day…to ask God to wash me clean each morning from the sins of the day before…so I can be his humble servant…so that he could heal me of my abnormal birth.

It made me think also of the message from our Good Friday service yesterday.  Tears came to my eyes…almost to the point of physical sobs…as a watched a graphic video of the torture…the physical pain he endured.  As he fell from the weight of that heavy cross…all my sin came to mind.  All my sin…added to all the sins of every other person alive on the day of his death…and the sins of every one to ever be born ….all that sin made the cross very heavy….and Christ was already physically spent. Yet…he kept walking toward his death…and allowed his pain to become the greatest gift to mankind ever known. 

I not only need to die every day to my sins…I need to take up that cross of Jesus myself. Luke recorded these directions…the very words of Jesus… in Luke 9:23,  “Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” This Easter celebration is not just a time of remembrance….it is a call to service.  Even if we have taken up that cross …we tend to put it back down when it becomes heavy.  We need to ask God to strengthen us…to make our cross heavier…so that we can walk with that cross in front of the lost and confused of this world.  So that we can keep that cross on our shoulders… and not put it down again.  So that we can be his vessels to spread the great story of his love for us. …his servants….putting others even before ourselves.

Father…I thank you for Jesus…and I thank you that your love was so great that you allowed him to come to Earth… to teach us how to live humble…even sacrificial lives.  Help me this Easter to really internalize the love you gave me through your son’s death.  Help me to live a more loving…sacrificial life for others.  Give me the tools I need to carry your cross to others….to never throw it off my shoulders again…but embrace its pain and suffering…to allow your love to build me into a vessel of your service.  Help me to die today and every day to myself…to my selfish human nature…and allow you to fill me new each day with your healing love and mercy. Amen.